So much in advance: there is a big, big variety in the lists. At least three Manas have high ratings for These New Puritans, but there is nothing like a consensus omnium, no record that gets declarations of love from all sides. There is a lot of underground (names some might never have heared), there are familiar names (Boards of Canada, Carla Bley), there is heavy genre-crossing everywhere within these Top-20 lists (at least I’m thinking so). Lee Hazlewood is listed with a beautiful re-release. Not the only artist coming from old times. Looking back didn’t always stop at Jan. 1, 2013. I didn’t put it on my list, but if 2013 had seen a nicely packaged vinyl edition of Robert Fripp’s ancient Let The Power Fall, it might have left a big mark here and there: Frippertronics solo in a rude, sharp and expressionist modus operandi. Instead I found it on a flea market, buried between old vegetables, a dog’s house and a rotten bookstore. It’s my secret album of the year, glooming in the shadows. (me)